Episode 235 - All The Small Things

Small-Form SLRs were a big deal when Olympus released the OM-Series of cameras, and the team has a lot of experience with them, so we're recycling last episode's joke and discussing the OM-1, OM-2, ME, MX, FM, and FE. Plus a lot of other discussions about photography in general, how things have again leaned toward needing to be big, weddings, cameras, the number of photos, etc., and getting back to the value of a good, solid tool.

It's been a hot minute since we've talked about our own personal GAS. So the team sits down to share some of their new toys, lenses, cameras, film, and apps they've picked up so far this year. Cameras, Lenses, Plates, Films, Apps nothing is off the table. And of course, even with some lower GAS...it's always for now.

With everyone settled back in school, we decided it was time to hand out a bit of homework and have them do a summer book report. No, we didn't assign this task before the summer 'break', but let's go with the theme! On this episode, the team sits down and shares some of their favourite photo books (two each, since we love to talk). These books could be anything from pure photography and technical guides to group projects. The books on today are: The Camera, The Negative, The Print, Magnum Contact Sheets, The Canada Chronicle, Tao of Photography, The Disappearing Darkness, Photography through the Pandemic, Understanding Exposure, Learning to See Creatively, The Film Photography Handbook (3rd Edition), The Darkroom Cookbook, and a few others.

We're back on the topic of Infrared, this time with James, Alex, John and Bill! Infrared light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes the visible light spectrum, ranging from 380nm to 700nm, or violet to red. Most infrared photography uses specialised film and filters to capture light in the 700-900nm range. Today, we don't have dedicated IR films being newly produced like Kodak HIE, Efke IR820, or Konica Infrared 750, but we do have extended red-sensitive films that reach the near-IR range. These films include Rollei Retro 80s, Rollei Superpan 200, Rollei Infrared, Rollei Retro 400s and FPP Black & White Infrared. These films have sensitivities beyond 700nm and between 740 to 750nm. Pairing these films with a deep red (092/89b) or a true IR filter, such as a 093, RM90, or R72, will produce results typical of a traditional infrared film. Just make sure to spend the money and get a good quality one. The team also talks about working with colour IR film, such as Kodak EIR/Aerochrome and FPP Infrachrome, and how it uses standard coloured filters rather than specialised ones. Plus a bit of discussion about using IR techniques with digital cameras.

Alex is back for one last solo episode before getting back to our regular episodes, and this time he's live on location at Brock University. Alex recounts photographing the Collective2026 youth event hosted by the Presbyterian and United Churches of Canada back in August. During the event, Alex used a hybrid approach, combining his Nikon F5 and Rolleiflex 2.8F with the D750. He brought and used the gear, the films, and even shared some highlights from the photography workshop he ran at the event. You can find all of Alex's photos over on Flickr!

We love our advanced, top-of-the-line, high-quality cameras here on CCR. The Nikon F5 and F6, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad, and large-format cameras with multi-element lenses. But recently Alex has been digging into cameras that often are not what he typically uses and is loving the experience of keeping things simple and a bit of a juxtaposition from his usual kit. In today's episode, Alex sits down to talk about all the cameras that he's been using of late and how maybe if you're getting started in film photography, these cameras might be a better bang for your buck than the ones that everyone else is using and can be a bit of a pain on the wallet. The cameras include the Canon Demi EE17, Hanimex 35ES, RETO Snapic A1, Minolta Maxxum 5, Nikon F65, Ricoh XR10, RETO Ektar H35N, RETO Ultra-Wide & Slim, and whatever else comes to his mind.

Jess Beaudin first came to our attention when CBC posted an article about her use of natural materials to develop and print her photographs. So, of course, we wanted to get her on the show to talk about her work! Jess agreed and sat down with Alex to talk about anything and everything! You can find more of Jess' work online: Web: jessbeaudin.ca Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570628757496 Instagram: instagram.com/jessbeaudinmedia

And we've made it to the end of the tetralogy, and we're going beyond the portrait length to talk about telephotos, which, for our purposes, are lenses that are 200mm and longer. These might not always be the first lens you reach for in your regular photography, but they are still powerful tools for events, nature, and even getting close when you can't do so safely. The lenses featured in today's show include the AI Nikkor 300mm f/4.5, AI-S Nikkor 200mm f/4, Leitz 180mm f/3.4 APO, Canon FD 300mm f/5.6, AI-S Nikkor 80-200mm f/4, Olympus 75-150mm f/4, AF Micro-Nikkor 200mm f/4, Vivtar 135mm f/2.8.

Before we get to long lenses, we're going into lenses that are designed for portraits, it doesn't matter if you're talking headshots, couples, quarter length, these are amazing lenses that are far more versatile than what they're called. Today's criteria are focal lengths between 70mm and 200mm, although 200mm is pushing it for some photographers, but it's our show, and we set the rules. The lenses featured in today's episode include the DC-Nikkor 105mm f/2D, AI-S Nikkor 85mm f/2, AI-S Nikkor 105mm f/2.5, Zuiko 100mm f/2.8, Takumar 85mm f/1.9, Canon 100mm f/2, AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G and AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G.

While everyone always associates the term "normal lens" with the 50mm focal length, here at CCR, we're going with more of a range between 28mm and 60mm. In reality, normal human vision ranges from 31mm to 43mm, which can be difficult to replicate with readily available lenses. So on today's episode, we're featuring the Pentax-M 40mm, AF Nikkor 35mm, Leica Summicron 50mm, AI-S Nikkor 28mm, Zuiko 35mm, Biotar 58mm, Yashinon 50mm, Takumar 55mm, Pentax-FA 31mm, Pentax-FA 43mm, and Voigtländer 58mm.